Member Avatar for Stefano Mtangoo

Does it take UML knowledge to be good at designing BIG project?
If yes is there free UML modeling software?
Thanks

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No — familiarity with UML helps, but mastery of every diagram is not a prerequisite for designing large systems. As noted, the core skill is modelling and communicating intent, not memorizing notation. ’s warning about overly fine-grained diagrams is valid: unnecessary detail wastes time. was right to look for free tooling, but the bigger win is knowing which views to keep and why. (martinfowler.com)

A pragmatic set of artifacts scales much better than full UML coverage: a system/context diagram, one container (or component) view per subsystem, and a couple of sequence or activity diagrams for the tricky runtime flows. Treat class-level diagrams as code-level artifacts (rarely needed for architecture discussion). Prefer “diagrams as code” so models live in the repository and can be regenerated automatically to avoid stale diagrams. (structurizr.com)

Up-to-date free tooling that supports those practices (and is widely used) includes text-first engines and light visual editors. PlantUML provides a textual DSL for many UML types (and C4 support), making CI integration straightforward; Mermaid offers lightweight text diagrams that render in many docs platforms; diagrams.net (draw.io) is a zero-login visual editor for quick diagrams; Modelio and Eclipse Papyrus are mature open-source options when heavy, standards-based modelling (UML/SysML) is required. Choose text-based tools when versioning and automation matter; use a visual editor when speed matters. (plantuml.com)

Keep a minimal, reproducible workflow: store canonical sources (.puml/.mmd), generate SVG/PNG in CI, and publish the outputs alongside the code. A tiny PlantUML sequence example (commit the .puml file and regenerate in CI) — this keeps diagrams accurate and reviewable. (plantuml.com)

@startuml
User -> WebApp: POST /order
WebApp -> Service: validate(order)
Service --> WebApp: OK
WebApp -> DB: save(order)
DB --> WebApp: OK
WebApp --> User: 201 Created
@enduml

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Member Avatar for Salem

No.

Member Avatar for K?!

I don't know 'bout the first question, but I've been searching for free uml tools for a couple of days.
http://plg.uwaterloo.ca/~migod/uml.html (under title: some open source tools)
I'm using Bouml on ubuntu (linux), but I don't know if it's available for Windows.

From what I have been reading, my conclusion is: there are no PERFECT free UML tools, but there are good ones if you do a little research to find one that suits your needs (do you need automatic code generation, in what languages, ...)

Grtz.

EDIT: there is also a free version of Visual Paradigm (Community Edition): http://www.visual-paradigm.com/product/vpuml/vpumldownload.jsp?edition=ce
PS: Visual paradigm is considered the best UML modelling tool available.

Member Avatar for davidrafter

UML is a low level diagramming language that is usually used in too fine-grained a manner. The truth is that people should avoid diagrams, so that they force themselves to store the graph of information in their brains.

Member Avatar for K?!

Well, I think it's quite a help when programming complex program's. If you design it accurately with UML you only have to "translate" your design into real code, and if your design is logically correct, it should work properly.

It helps to hold on to previous ideas (at least for me it does), like you think of something for another class or whatever, but half an hour later you find that you forgot what you thought out before that... And just loosely noting every idea ends up in a bunch of paper that's barely usable. While when having a good design, you can start building according to plan.

Well, that's just my experience, but I'm just a starting programmer. What may work for me may not work for you.

Grtz, K?!

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